Lexington Logo Black with White Outline

News from English 3

-KayLee Heins

 

Here in the English 3 world, we are wrapping up our Argumentative Research paper. Students were able to browse through hot-button topics and then choose one that spoke to their interests and life. We began by having Mrs. Buck reintroduce how to access the school library’s resources: EBSCO, Gale Opposing Viewpoints, and Worldbook Online. Students then set in, writing a research question and reading through article after article with the end goal of having seven articles found to use in their writing. Once found, students were refreshed in MLA 9th Edition format and set in highlighting claim quotes, claim information, and counterclaim information. As the creation of citation note cards began, students were asked to make judgement calls as to whether or not the highlight was still relevant to their overall argument. The writing process continued into writing each of three bigger main ideas, the last of which included their counterclaim and refute. Items such as strong transition words, topic sentences, in-text citations, and concluding sentences were reviewed as a whole class. Before we left for spring break, students in English 3 were working on the formatting of their introduction paragraph; as a result, many students were modifying their original working thesis statement to better cater to their argument now that their papers were in their first draft phase. Students have been able to utilize in-class work time for their research, note cards creation, writing, and revisions/editing, all while reviewing several grammar concepts to aid in their writing of complex sentences. As we near the final week of the third quarter, students will be working on writing their conclusions, reviewing papers for revisions and edits, and meeting one-on-one with me for a writing conference where they can ask me to talk through anything in regards to their paper. With the Argumentative Writing Unit coming to a close, English 3 students will begin examining Naturalism and Realism in relation to American Literature. This will set us up to begin reading “The Great Gatsby”.